Purpose and Methods of Employee Training and Development Process - Term Paper Example

Table of Contents 1.0. Executive Summary 02 2.0. Introduction 03 3.0. Training and Development 03 4.0. Purpose of Employee Training and Development Process 04 5.0. Methods of Training Employees 05 5.1. On the job training methods 05 5.2. Off the job training methods 06 6.0. Benefits of Training and Development 08 6.1. Organisational Benefits 09 6.2. Employee Benefits 10 7.0. Effectiveness of Training and Development 11 8.0. Employee Development Plan 12 9.0. Barriers to Training and Development 14 10.0. Theories Related to Training and Development Programs 15 11.0. Conclusion 16 12.0. Recommendations 16 13.0. References 18 1.0. Executive Summary Training and development has become a very important issue in the modern day business as it is needed for the survival, growth and development of the organisation. It has turned out to be an issue of strategic importance in the urge to achieve the goals and objectives. Although training and development has been advocated by several research and studies regarding its role in improving a firm’s performance yet has been criticised as faddish, very expensive or non-transferable to the job. The purpose of this assignment is to highlight the benefits of employee training and development programs to an organisation. There is still a gap in this direction and this assignment tries to feel the gap through critical examination of the benefits and proper approaches to fill the same. 2.0. Introduction Training and development is the upgrading or bringing up to mark the skills and knowledge of an employee to a standard that is required to perform a certain task. Within any sector the accomplishment of any organisation depends on the employees who ensure proper working to complete their duty. Organisations are tremendously facing pressure for talented workforce for improved production methods, entry for advanced technology and for those employees who are inclined to achieve work life balance. For such factors training is tool in gaining such advantages and has proved to be a parameter for improving the ability of the employees to attain organisational objectives. In this assignment we come across the purpose and benefits of training and development, along with the methods for its improvement. The organisational and employee benefits are studied in details with the effectiveness of the same. The employee development plan, barriers and theories and models related to the same are also studied with recommendations for betterment in the future. 3.0. Training and Development Training and development of the employees has become a very significant and critical issue in this modern era of business competition for their survival, growth and development. Training has been described as a systematic process which helps in modification of attitude, knowledge or skill behaviour which helps in attaining effective performance. Development of employees is making them ready for future job responsibilities both in the form of formal and informal training, education, mentoring, coaching, etc. (Garrow, 2004). Even though both these terms are often linked to one another but they serve slightly different needs. Training is the focus on necessary skills and acquiring the requisite knowledge for performing a job and more oriented towards the design and delivery of learning for improvement of organisational performance. Development, on the other hand, focuses on the preparations needed for future jobs for the workforce for long term gains. Effective training and development are the major necessities for survival and growth of business. The significant importance of training and development has been long recognised and organisations have started to pay more attention towards the improvement of both these factors to meet organisational goals. Hiring of employees has become a very expensive process and so the need for investing in the training and development of new hires properly is a very highly required field (Ballot, Fakhfakh and Taymaz, 2006). The picture above highlights how new and unskilled employees also including the potential managers get transformed into motivated and committed and skilled employees and competent managers after going through the process of different training and development programs organised by and within the organisations. 4.0. Purpose of Employee Training and Development Process The quality of the employees and their upgrading through proper training and development act as some major factors in determining future and long-term benefits for the company. The purpose of emphasizing on training and development are: Creation of a team of replacements who are ready or in a position to replace those individuals who may leave the firm or move up in the organisation. Improving the company’s ability to adopt the advancing technological changes to the sufficiently knowledgeable staff. Constructing a better team which is more efficient, effective and motivated towards job performance which enhances the competitive position of the company and employee morale. It ensures that the company is well equipped with surplus human resources to expand into new programs. Over the years researches have proved that training and development have resulted in increased productivity, reduction of employee turnover, increased efficiency bringing financial gains and decreased need of supervision (Taylor, Evans and Mohamed, 2007). 5.0. Methods of Training Employees Formal training is a very effective way of transferring the organisational goals and values, directly, to a whole group of people. There are various methods of training the employees within an organisation and can be categorised into two categories either on the job or off the job. 5.1. On the job training methods: This form of training involves a person to having do the job to learn and develop skills in the work environment with actual use of machinery and materials during their training period. This makes the employees to apply their learned materials in real-time rather than sitting in the classroom and almost forget everything they have learnt at the time of returning to their work. But this training is only possible when the employees first contain some or much knowledge regarding the first step and what is to be done which could be attained through off the job training method. The following are the fe*w methods used in this process: Job rotation: This involves the movement of the trainees from one job to the other gaining knowledge and experience form the superior or the trainer of each department under different job assignments. This is also helpful for the trainee to understand the problems of the employees. Coaching: An individual acts as a coach under whose supervision the trainee is placed for training purpose. The role of the supervisor is to provide a proper feedback along with some suggestions for improvement, regarding his training. This method has certain limitations as the trainees may not get the opportunity or freedom to express his ideas. Job instruction: This is systematic process of training and is also known as training through step by step. The trainee gets the knowledge of the way of doing the jobs, knowledge regarding the job and the skill to perform the job. Also the trainer appraises, provides feedback and room for improvement towards job performance. Committee assignments: Here the art of teamwork is developed through a group performance. The trainees are actually given a real organisational problem to be solved by a number of trainees. 5.2. Off the job training methods: As the name suggests this form of training is done away from the normal workplace setting which may be stated as a classroom or any training space. This form of setting a classroom away from the general workplace has some advantages compared to the on the job training method. Firstly is permits the use of training techniques like video lectures, discussions, role playing stimulations. Secondly an environment can be created to control minimum distractions so that it is conducive for learning. This form of training makes the use of the technological advancements at hand to provide the most effective training to the employees. With the learners developing a flexible thought process tend to learn the art of effective application of oral and written communication skills required during performance in the real work environment (Green, Huntington and Summers, 2007). Vestibule training: The actual work conditions are created in a classroom with the material files and equipments that are needed in real job performance are used in this technique of training. Mainly related to clerical and semi skilled jobs this form of training ranges from a few days to few weeks where theory is related to practice. Role playing: This is a technique of human interaction involving realistic behaviour in imaginary situations. The trainees play the role of some specific production manager, mechanical engineer, superintendents, quality control inspectors, workers, etc. involving action, doing and practice. This kind of method is basically used for development of inter-personal interactions and relations. Lecture method: This is the most traditional and direct method of instruction giving. The lecture must be effective enough to create interest and motivate the trainees. A benefit of this method is that it can be directly used for a large group saving cost and time. It is limited by the fact that it does not provide training effectively. Conference or discussion: This is a method for training the clerical, professional and supervisory people. It involves a group of people who pose ideas, examine and share facts, ideas and data, test assumptions and arrive at conclusion towards the contribution for improvement in job performance. It has an upper hand over the lecture method as there is an involvement of two way communication. The success rate is high which directly depends on the leadership abilities of the person leading the group. Programmed instruction: The method of programmed instruction has become popular in the recent years where the subject matter to be learned is instructed through a carefully planned series of sequential units which are arranged from simple to more complex level. The trainee is required to answer or fill in the blanks. This method is expensive and more time consuming. The diagram above depicts how both the methods of training assist in training and development of employees within an organisation. 6.0. Benefits of Training and Development Training and development provides enormous opportunities to expand the knowledge of all employees but the employers find it an expensive process. It also adds to the delay of any project completion as the employees miss out useful time in attending such training. Despite such drawbacks training and development has certainly got various benefits which are both in terms of personal and organisational level as discussed further. 6.1. Organisational Benefits 6.1. a. Market Growth An organisation is required to stay solvent and competitive in the market for which development programs for the employees are to be imposed. Although such programs are an added expense for the organisation but serves to be positive as it helps them to hold a place in the competitive market. There are two motives which are significant for employee’s knowledge, one is the identification of training and development and the other is the need for the CEOs of the organisations to understand the speed at which information is transferring in the current business environment. With the employees gaining knowledge the training and development program helps in getting a positive effect on the return on investment. The training and development programs also help in providing the organisations with a difference within their native market (Arthur, Bennett, Edens and Bell 2003). 6.1. b. Organisational Performance Training has always been considered as a contributing factor in organisational performance as the investment in such field can be justified through the personal development and organisational effectiveness. There are no proper measures and methodologies to assess the impact of human capital appreciation on organisational performance but still such practices add to the attitude and work related practices. Trained employees are an asset for the companies as they are more capable in comparison to untrained employees to perform their duties more effectively and with the organisational desired goals. 6.1. c. Employee Retention Employee retention is a very challenging notion and researches have described it as unbounded by any method. Many organisations have concluded that retention of employees can be done by providing them opportunities for improving their learning. Thus, it has been confirmed that there is a direct and strong link between employee training and development and employee retention. There is a need for the companies to realize the importance of employees as assets and suffer the challenge and costs for their retention. Therefore companies involving in training and development have gained success in retaining them. 6.2. Employee Benefits Employee benefits are directly or indirectly connected to the entire organisational performance as their individual knowhow and satisfaction shall enhance their performance to complete the goals of the organisation. 6.2. a. Addressing Weaknesses No person is perfect and same is the case for the employees to have some sort of weakness in their workplace skills. As there is the basic requirement for improvement in certain areas of skill, training and development programs help to strengthen the same. Such programs bring them all to a higher level to make them have similar skills and knowledge. They help in reducing the weak links that basically rely on others to complete their work load. Providing effective training and development helps in reducing the weakness and helping them to work independently without and senior supervision or help. 6.2. b. Improved Employee Performance With proper training an employee is in a better condition to perform the task more accurately. They take more care of safety precautions and proper procedure for the completion of the task. It also enhances the confidence of the employees as they gain better understanding of the organisation and their job responsibilities thus pushing them generate new ideas for excellence in their job. Time to time training also keeps the employees on the cutting edge of organisational development. So it can be easily concluded that proper and effective training and development helps in the improvement of employee performance. 6.2. c. Consistency A structural training and development programs ensure a consistency in workplace performance due to experience and background knowledge. It is relevant for the basic policies and procedures of the company. There is a need for the employees to be aware of the expectations and procedures of the company which includes safety, discrimination and administrative work. With the involvement of all employees in the training and development process ensures that they have an exposure to the organisational information (Frost, 2014). 6.2. d. Employee Satisfaction Employees of a company who are exposed to training and development programs have an advantage over the employees of those organisations who are not entitled to or brought under the process of training. Training creates a supportive workplace and also makes the employees fell that they are valued in the organisation. The employees who get awards of appreciation and are challenged for their mistakes are more prone to be satisfied toward their jobs. 7.0. Effectiveness of Training and Development Training and development are both effectively beneficial for an organisation having some positive impact on the final results of the organisational performance. Training socially, physically and mentally not only facilitates the level of production but also the attainment of organisational plans and strategies. It can be classified as external and internal helping in developing the art of teamwork and self confidence. It aims at improving organisational capabilities and employee abilities. The views of training of training could be either perceived positive or negative in relation which are really important in making decisions of including or excluding training and development plans within an organisation. Training not only looks towards obtainment of new abilities, skills and knowledge to promote entrepreneurship, make the employees ready for changes, bring a change in their attitude and involve them in the business decision process. Trained employees can perform better and faster with less of less of errors and produce goods with higher quality thus adding to the quantifiable benefits (Zwick, 2006). Although there are various benefits and effectiveness of training and development to an organisation, yet many organisations are still reluctant in investing in this direction. 8.0. Employee Development Plan Employee development plan is a systematic process to develop an employee’s current job skills and for future responsibilities and jobs. The plan is based in accordance with the awareness, reflection, goal-setting and strength of competencies which are in context of the organisational growth. The major skills required are for leadership, management and supervisory training. The employee development plan is a four step strategy and is very essential for the organisation. The steps are further discussed as follows: Preparing the Employees: Employee opinion plays a major role in this direction. They are required to have a clear picture and understanding regarding their job skills, responsibilities and organisational requirements. Quality skill and interest of the employees are the basic job functions that are required to perform current responsibilities and move forward. Previous job goals are used as the grounds lf comparison and are the determinants of activities for employee development. Provide Development Opportunities: Not all employees have the same job and responsibility at hand and this difference demands for vary of development opportunities for each employee as per the job requirements. Elements: Training is the most basic element of all which depends on the experience and lack of experience of the employees. Through peer coaching other employees develop such skills so that they can perform in place of others when they are absent. When one employee helps the other to develop creates a bigger alignment and congruence among work and individuals thus strengthening the platform of performing a task. Also the process of job design changes is applied where the aspects of the job are decided as per the suggestions to enhance proficiency. Monitoring Progress: This stage involves observing the performance. Reviews are presented on the current progress and quality measures as a step towards feedback regarding the ongoing development. Feedback is a very critical element for the success of a developmental process. It supports in creating confidence and encouragement to perform better by boosting the self confidence level of the employees to succeed in performance (Noe, 2005). 9.0. Barriers to Training and Development The barriers to training and development are more often faced and identified by the smaller firms in comparison to the larger ones. The main obstacles for them are: The smaller employers are unaware and lack proper information regarding the availability of proper training methods and the evidence of the benefits are also not real but perceived against the same. Even if they consider the perceived benefits of training to be valuable they still find difficulty to release them for training. Such firms face difficulty in accessing training tailored to their needs like type plus quality, scheduling, location, etc. Apart from the above mentioned obstacles there are many other means of mechanisms which are related with market failure. They are: Information deficiencies: Lack of proper knowledge regarding the types of training available and how it shall benefit the business directly influences the decision of investment on skilled training and development. Short-termism in addition to risk aversion: Small firms are always in a hurry for immediate results and thus operate to shorter horizons as compared to larger ones. Externalities: Other factors like higher wages, state taxation, free riders those who quit job and join other firms just because of a little excess pay reduces the interest of the employer to induce training patterns and incur loss or increase expenditure. So it can be summed up that lack of resource and time, lack of motivation to change or improve, unidentified impact, mere improvement in performance, no proper support form senior leaders, etc. act as barriers in the path of training and development which restrains companies from investing in this direction. 10.0. Theories Related to Training and Development Programs The development of the employees is not same for all the employees and depends on the employee’s strengths, preferences and focus to acquire any knowledge for betterment. Few of the theories and models related to the same are further discussed. 10.1. Training, Needs, Analysis (TNA) This theory has been used to analyse an organisation’s training needs through gap analysis. It is an assessment of the knowledge, skills and attitude that the employees have and the knowledge, skills and attitude which are further required to meet the organisational goals. This is basically a pre-survey of the needs before planning any employment development program. It helps in deciding the target employees, scope and areas of need, proper timing, location and its effectiveness where the organisation needs to focus (Shen and Roger, 2006). 10.2. The ADDIE Model The ADDIE Model is a systems approach which stands for Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation and Evaluation. In the Analysing phase the entire requirements are analysed starting from goal of the organsiation to the cost needed for training, the current knowledge of the employees and their further requirements. The design phase analyses the data as a blueprint for specific learning objectives. This is very critical phase as the information collected in the analysis phase is designed to outline an effective learning program. Development phase is the delivery of the outline of the design phase. The concepts, rules and strategies are explored in this phase and are brought into application. In the implementation phase the developed actions are implemented into action for results. The materials are delivered in this stage which not only involves the transfer of concepts but also the attitude and behaviour of the employees. Evaluation is a continuous process where the results are measured and compared to a set standard result bringing out a complete summary of the process and also gives a feedback. 11.0. Conclusion Training and development of employees does exist within an organisation which leads to the important benefits for individuals and the organisation. To understand the benefits of the same various studies have been presented which reflect the benefits and utility which has been earlier discussed in the assignment. The assignment broadens the importance of training and development in an organisation and makes more organisations to come into practice of applying the same for better results. It is required for the organisations to support all its employees in meeting their necessities then it helps both the employer and the employees to gain long term benefits. 12.0. Recommendations There are few recommendations that can be suggested to the organisations to employ for better performance in future through proper planning and development like the policies regarding training should be communicated to the trainees in detail. Trained employees are in a ready position to cope with the changes in the business environment which makes such issues more important. Both the old and new employees should be trained regularly to keep the organisation strategically positioned and getting quality products. The correct approach for correct outcome should be selected with very care and diligence and the strategies must be developed before the implication of the process. Proper data gathering and problem identification should be properly identified for effectiveness of strategic organisational objectives. 13.0. References Arthur, W.J., Bennett, W.J., Edens, P. and Bell S.T. 2003. Effectiveness of training in organizations: a met-analysis of design and evaluation features. Journal Applied Psychology. 88:234–45. Ballot, G., Fakhfakh, F., & Taymaz, E. 2006. Who benefits from training and R&D, the firm or the workers. British Journal of Industrial Relations, 44, 473-495. Frost, S. 2014. The Importance of Training & Development in the Workplace. Retrieved on 27-11-14 http://smallbusiness.chron.com/importance-training-development-workplace-10321.html Green, N., Huntington., N and Summers, S. 2007. Skills and training survey 2007: full report Industry Training Federation; Business New Zealand: Wellington Garrow, V. 2004. Training and Development and the Psychological Contract. Training Journal, April 8–10. Noe A. R. 2005. Employee Training and development.3rd Ed. McGraw-Hill Co. Shen J. and Roger .D. 2006. Training and Management Development in Chinese multinational Mark Saunders. Taylor, M., Evans, K. and Mohamed, A. 2007. The Value of Formal and Informal training for Workers with Low Literacy: Exploring Experience in Canada and the United Kingdom Zwick, T. 2006. The impact of training intensity on establishments productivity. Labour Economics, 11, 715-740. Read More